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PollyMobiles Rebuild
- Thread starter pollyp
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pollyp
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If you do a fair bit of fabrication such as exhaust or frame work, I'd highly recommend this bandsaw as a starters.
It's really affordable, and once carefully configured it makes life soo much easier. 14tpi blade hasn't dulled yet and cuts steel tubes very quickly.
In my tiny workshop it's abit bulky heavy and the cheap stand is meh but I'll be fabricating a better stronger frame on castor wheels anyway.
It's really affordable, and once carefully configured it makes life soo much easier. 14tpi blade hasn't dulled yet and cuts steel tubes very quickly.
In my tiny workshop it's abit bulky heavy and the cheap stand is meh but I'll be fabricating a better stronger frame on castor wheels anyway.
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pollyp
Club Member
from the recent classic car meet I met Gee who needed help with welding a rust hole on his mini. initially thinking it was a small hole to patch up and quoted £40 but as usual this turns into a bigger job 
at first it looks abit meh with the rust spreading to the lower sill
but some prodding and wirebrush reveals a horror of rotten sills and mass of bodyfiller
christ! the insides are just rust and dodgy filler, plus it's been fitted with 'over-sills' which don't feature the original drain ports and simpy traps more water & rust
chopped the pourous rusty parts out and vacuumed all the debris
this tigersealed gaping hole might be where water could be leaking in
grinded the old spot welded strip out
this cheap copy pattern sill wasn't a precise good fit. I trimmed the front part to match
but just look at this mess
it doesn't match the door line curve, different spacing and doesn't reach the end far enough
so I had to split it into sections to line it up and then fill in the gaps
drilling the plug weld holes is a chore
tack welded in place
with the wind picking up, welding it outside with an inconsistant unpredictable welder is frustrating
grinded the welds flat
that was definately a pain to do and worth more than £40 work. I've yet to do the lower sills too which seems more difficult
at first it looks abit meh with the rust spreading to the lower sill
but some prodding and wirebrush reveals a horror of rotten sills and mass of bodyfiller
christ! the insides are just rust and dodgy filler, plus it's been fitted with 'over-sills' which don't feature the original drain ports and simpy traps more water & rust
chopped the pourous rusty parts out and vacuumed all the debris
this tigersealed gaping hole might be where water could be leaking in
grinded the old spot welded strip out
this cheap copy pattern sill wasn't a precise good fit. I trimmed the front part to match
but just look at this mess
it doesn't match the door line curve, different spacing and doesn't reach the end far enough
so I had to split it into sections to line it up and then fill in the gaps
drilling the plug weld holes is a chore
tack welded in place
with the wind picking up, welding it outside with an inconsistant unpredictable welder is frustrating
grinded the welds flat
that was definately a pain to do and worth more than £40 work. I've yet to do the lower sills too which seems more difficult
Good work so far, oversills are a much maligned repair amongst mini enthusiasts, done when minis were worth nothing to get them through MOT. The outer sills should be spot welded on the floor panel and on the outer seam, the ends were the hard bit to get out cleanly on my mini as they were bronzed in.
That’s the O/S sill, plus inner sill & then the N/S yet to start on @ £40 cheap as chips by a factor of ten?from the recent classic car meet I met Gee who needed help with welding a rust hole on his mini. initially thinking it was a small hole to patch up and quoted £40 but as usual this turns into a bigger job
View attachment 71714
at first it looks abit meh with the rust spreading to the lower sill
View attachment 71715
but some prodding and wirebrush reveals a horror of rotten sills and mass of bodyfiller
View attachment 71716
christ! the insides are just rust and dodgy filler, plus it's been fitted with 'over-sills' which don't feature the original drain ports and simpy traps more water & rust
View attachment 71717
chopped the pourous rusty parts out and vacuumed all the debris
View attachment 71718
this tigersealed gaping hole might be where water could be leaking in
View attachment 71723
grinded the old spot welded strip out
View attachment 71719
this cheap copy pattern sill wasn't a precise good fit. I trimmed the front part to match
View attachment 71720
but just look at this mess
it doesn't match the door line curve, different spacing and doesn't reach the end far enough
View attachment 71721
so I had to split it into sections to line it up and then fill in the gaps
View attachment 71722
drilling the plug weld holes is a chore
tack welded in place
View attachment 71724
with the wind picking up, welding it outside with an inconsistant unpredictable welder is frustrating
View attachment 71725
grinded the welds flat
View attachment 71726View attachment 71727View attachment 71728View attachment 71729
that was definately a pain to do and worth more than £40 work. I've yet to do the lower sills too which seems more difficult
You could be my jobbing welder anytime!
I think you should be charging £40 per hour not job! Many years ago the MOT station I use where charging £10 per inch of weld and apparently that was cheap 
. Luckily I've always done my own repair/ restoration
I've lost count of how many mini door step and sill jobs I've done now and these days I don't bother repairing, I just buy a complete inner and outer sill repair panel that's already spotted together and Replace the lot in one go.
What welder are you using for it to be inconsistent?
. Luckily I've always done my own repair/ restorationI've lost count of how many mini door step and sill jobs I've done now and these days I don't bother repairing, I just buy a complete inner and outer sill repair panel that's already spotted together and Replace the lot in one go.
What welder are you using for it to be inconsistent?
That’s the sills sorted, what about the front & back sub-frame mountings & trumpets inner wings?I think you should be charging £40 per hour not job! Many years ago the MOT station I use where charging £10 per inch of weld and apparently that was cheap
I've lost count of how many mini door step and sill jobs I've done now and these days I don't bother repairing, I just buy a complete inner and outer sill repair panel that's already spotted together and Replace the lot in one go.
What welder are you using for it to be inconsistent?
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pollyp
Club Member
cheers guys, I had a chat with the guy about the extra work I did to it and ended up paying me £65 for it. he wants me to simply patch up the exposed lower sill hole just enough to pass the MOT and sell it onwards, so I quoted £60 to add the panel and tigerseal that gap in the wheel arch.
£40 per hour? eek I myself would just feel guilty charging that much for a small size job but took soo long due to bad conditions and correcting the fitment.
I'm using a clarke 135TE but I think the occasional poor welding was due to the wind, bad ground from being painted with weld primer and a worn loose MIG contact tip (didn't bring any spares)
I was only asked to fix the rusty sill, I dare not venture into the rest of the car and find more work to do lol
£40 per hour? eek I myself would just feel guilty charging that much for a small size job but took soo long due to bad conditions and correcting the fitment.
I'm using a clarke 135TE but I think the occasional poor welding was due to the wind, bad ground from being painted with weld primer and a worn loose MIG contact tip (didn't bring any spares)
I was only asked to fix the rusty sill, I dare not venture into the rest of the car and find more work to do lol
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pollyp
Club Member
interesting to find that the old preface seat belt buckle is shorter than the newer facelift seat belts that Jack gave me
my m8 Simon has been having trouble with his R33 Skyline misfiring and running poorly rich after discovering his engine loom near the bulkhead had shorted out and caused a few issues and losing his patience.
I popped round to help test & diagnose it and found some bent coil-pack connector pins, few vacuum leaks, too much throttle cable tension and IGN dizzy needed aligning.
after fixing all that, it ran much smoother now but there's still a random slight misfire only when it's above 37c, which is very similar to when I used to have dirty fuel injectors, so I suggested he should try swap to a spare fuel rail and also see if unplugging the temperature sensor to force it into rich-mode stops it from misfiring when warmed up (to check if it's a mapping or physical issue)
was recently given a nice free sticker from the Nissan Ultimate Show Group for regularly posting my update contents on there
I thoughtfully placed it to cover the ugly blanked key hole and to balance out all the other graphics on the boot, looking shweet
found another annoying rattle in the back was this loosely clipped plastic reflector in the brake light
wedging some rubber pieces fixed that
visiting Jess's place after a car meet to help with some simple engine work
my m8 Simon has been having trouble with his R33 Skyline misfiring and running poorly rich after discovering his engine loom near the bulkhead had shorted out and caused a few issues and losing his patience.
I popped round to help test & diagnose it and found some bent coil-pack connector pins, few vacuum leaks, too much throttle cable tension and IGN dizzy needed aligning.
after fixing all that, it ran much smoother now but there's still a random slight misfire only when it's above 37c, which is very similar to when I used to have dirty fuel injectors, so I suggested he should try swap to a spare fuel rail and also see if unplugging the temperature sensor to force it into rich-mode stops it from misfiring when warmed up (to check if it's a mapping or physical issue)
was recently given a nice free sticker from the Nissan Ultimate Show Group for regularly posting my update contents on there
I thoughtfully placed it to cover the ugly blanked key hole and to balance out all the other graphics on the boot, looking shweet
found another annoying rattle in the back was this loosely clipped plastic reflector in the brake light
wedging some rubber pieces fixed that
visiting Jess's place after a car meet to help with some simple engine work
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pollyp
Club Member
Callum wanted me to print some black 9.3mm HT lead holders for his micra
cos my printer bed is no longer heated, I can only print lower temp PLA whereas my HT holders were made of high temp ABS.
concerned it they'll melt, I removed my old HT holders
fitted the new PLA holders and went for a test drive and they didn't melt, they were actually quite insulating & cool to touch
cos my printer bed is no longer heated, I can only print lower temp PLA whereas my HT holders were made of high temp ABS.
concerned it they'll melt, I removed my old HT holders
fitted the new PLA holders and went for a test drive and they didn't melt, they were actually quite insulating & cool to touch
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pollyp
Club Member
Mohammad who owns a cool NSX just brought some new coilovers and needed my help to fit em
the old Zeal coilovers were very crusty and the alloy components very oxidised
he brought these lovely Yellow Speed Racing fully threaded coilovers for £800, similar price to mine
comparing old & new
1st thing to do is remove the springs and set the bump stop
jack the wheel up and set the lower ring till the tyre just misses the arch
then set the spring ride height till the arch gap was all equal & concentric
even though all the wheels sat concentric in the wheel arch, the chassis was pointing down and the front splitter was actually painfully scraping the floor just coming off the ramp
the driveway leading to the cambered street road will be even worse so tomorrow we'll need to raise the front up 15-20mm to make it practical.
the old Zeal coilovers were very crusty and the alloy components very oxidised
he brought these lovely Yellow Speed Racing fully threaded coilovers for £800, similar price to mine
comparing old & new
1st thing to do is remove the springs and set the bump stop
jack the wheel up and set the lower ring till the tyre just misses the arch
then set the spring ride height till the arch gap was all equal & concentric
even though all the wheels sat concentric in the wheel arch, the chassis was pointing down and the front splitter was actually painfully scraping the floor just coming off the ramp
the driveway leading to the cambered street road will be even worse so tomorrow we'll need to raise the front up 15-20mm to make it practical.
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pollyp
Club Member
swapped over to my spare BBS wheels, sprayed black, so that I can spend the next few days slowly cleaning & ceramic coating my white alloys ready for the NE Autoshow on sunday
these BMW BBS has abit too much offset tbh so there's a rude amount of poke with the dark wheels
finally added some mini pringles back to my intake pipe that's been missing for quite awhile
these BMW BBS has abit too much offset tbh so there's a rude amount of poke with the dark wheels
finally added some mini pringles back to my intake pipe that's been missing for quite awhile
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pollyp
Club Member
spending the last 4 days cleaning the white wheels ready for sundays NEAS show, I first wirebrush all the rust & excess paint off the wheels hub-face so it'll sit flat.
Then I rediously wash, degrease, polish, degrease & ceramic coat every contour of each wheel
It took at least 2-3hrs each so after an exhausting day at work, I could only do 1 wheel per day
the irratic rain was annoying but I managed to fit the clean wheels and washed the rest of the car
cleaning up the bay and catchcan, which caught 330ml after 1600m
reprinted the catchcan label
all ready for tomorrow
Then I rediously wash, degrease, polish, degrease & ceramic coat every contour of each wheel
It took at least 2-3hrs each so after an exhausting day at work, I could only do 1 wheel per day
the irratic rain was annoying but I managed to fit the clean wheels and washed the rest of the car
cleaning up the bay and catchcan, which caught 330ml after 1600m
reprinted the catchcan label
all ready for tomorrow
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pollyp
Club Member
2020-08-23 North East Auto Show
8am gathered with the CCS car group at the A66 BP garage (where I was finally able to buy the red salted mini Pringles can to complete my intake pipe
) before we all head towards the show together.
the entry sequence was a bit chaos, our group was scattered all over the place but eventually ignored the marshals and just all drove round to park together into our group but spaced apart.
ceramic coating works a treat. after driving through heavy rain the dirt normally bonds hard onto the rims but now I can easily wipe it off with my finger
spotted azzam and his 1JZ RX7 parked nearby
spotting a carburettor & EFI minis & sierras at the show
plus Craigs 'SuperCoop' mint Skyline
it was a good turnout being the only big car show of the year, I didn't take many pics walking around, the heavy rain came prematurely after lunch and afternoon which ruined it and had everyone leaving early
meh was nice to see lots of familiar ppl
8am gathered with the CCS car group at the A66 BP garage (where I was finally able to buy the red salted mini Pringles can to complete my intake pipe
) before we all head towards the show together.
the entry sequence was a bit chaos, our group was scattered all over the place but eventually ignored the marshals and just all drove round to park together into our group but spaced apart.
ceramic coating works a treat. after driving through heavy rain the dirt normally bonds hard onto the rims but now I can easily wipe it off with my finger
spotted azzam and his 1JZ RX7 parked nearby
spotting a carburettor & EFI minis & sierras at the show
plus Craigs 'SuperCoop' mint Skyline
it was a good turnout being the only big car show of the year, I didn't take many pics walking around, the heavy rain came prematurely after lunch and afternoon which ruined it and had everyone leaving early
meh was nice to see lots of familiar pplQuote: "You know you want too" do what, in a Mini?
Enjoy.
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pollyp
Club Member
I got enough to do with kassandra, don't need another project carJust bite the bullet and buy a mini. You know you want too
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pollyp
Club Member
if I ever see a row of those at a car show, they'll literally be like peas in a podQuote: "You know you want too" do what, in a Mini?
Enjoy.
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pollyp
Club Member
2020-08-30 Great North Air Ambulance Classic Car Show day 2
It was a much better sunny calm day 2 and so the field was jam packed
later that afternoon my m8 Jess met her idol Russ Swift, a famous stunt driver, and really chuffed to bits that he signed her austin mini bonnet
that'll raise the bonnets value and she's gonna laquer & frame it at home, gonna replace with a carbon bonnet
spotted another m8 Ian and his dragster
lovely esprit S1
some gorgeous corvettes
It was a much better sunny calm day 2 and so the field was jam packed
later that afternoon my m8 Jess met her idol Russ Swift, a famous stunt driver, and really chuffed to bits that he signed her austin mini bonnet
that'll raise the bonnets value and she's gonna laquer & frame it at home, gonna replace with a carbon bonnet
spotted another m8 Ian and his dragster
lovely esprit S1
some gorgeous corvettes
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pollyp
Club Member
visiting a m8 Craig and Annabel who's really local to me with an R33 skyline and Mitsubishi GTO and runs the Kuruma UK club and his youtube channel SuperCoop
her GTO was having trouble cranking recently so thought I'd lend a hand fixing it.
I dismantled and cleaned the gunk off the starter solenoid which was sticking, plus the solenoid wire was very dodgy crimped which didn't help. we also spotted and immediately fixed a driveshaft support bracket which had rattle off the block and hanging, making a knocking noise
after a long night fixing all that, it starts strongly 1st time
her GTO was having trouble cranking recently so thought I'd lend a hand fixing it.
I dismantled and cleaned the gunk off the starter solenoid which was sticking, plus the solenoid wire was very dodgy crimped which didn't help. we also spotted and immediately fixed a driveshaft support bracket which had rattle off the block and hanging, making a knocking noise
after a long night fixing all that, it starts strongly 1st time
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pollyp
Club Member
a nearby m8 Ben sold me a spare rear bumper plus these wind deflectors that just slots in.
tried em out and wow what a difference it makes.
previously just cracking a window open sends a blast across my face but with deflectors, it neatly sucks the hot air out and keeps rain out too
tried em out and wow what a difference it makes.
previously just cracking a window open sends a blast across my face but with deflectors, it neatly sucks the hot air out and keeps rain out too
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pollyp
Club Member
time to replace the poor flimsy legs on the bandsaw with a rigid frame on castors.
used my crane to lift/support the heavy unit while I fabricate the frame underneath
designing the frame to support the front heavy saw
carefully organising the cuts within the 6x 1metre bars
welded the top & bottom loops
and joined the uprights
adding castor wheels
now I can move it around the small workshop
used my crane to lift/support the heavy unit while I fabricate the frame underneath
designing the frame to support the front heavy saw
carefully organising the cuts within the 6x 1metre bars
welded the top & bottom loops
and joined the uprights
adding castor wheels
now I can move it around the small workshop
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pollyp
Club Member
Jess needed a precise 50 x 25 x 6.5mm penny washer to help install the austin mini's tapered wheel bearings.
chopped a section of 50mm steel rod on the bandsaw, does a very very nice job cutting a flat square even face ready for the lathe
machined the 25mm hole and 6.5mm thickness
chopped a section of 50mm steel rod on the bandsaw, does a very very nice job cutting a flat square even face ready for the lathe
machined the 25mm hole and 6.5mm thickness
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pollyp
Club Member
the tyre valves on both left wheels have been leaking again
so Jess who works at Ford Jennings offered to fix the valves and finally align the yellow tyre dots to the valves too so I swapped over to my track wheels while I dropped the white wheels off
collecting em after work, the valves were fixed and tyre dots aligned but there were black scuff marks on the spokes of both rear wheels, it took a fair bit of buffing out but actually left a dent in the paint. another major dent was on the front wheel lip where the jaws of the tyre fitting machine must've caught when she flipped the wheel over
she was sorry and offered to pay me 25% towards the re-powder coating that I was eventually gonna give em anyway, which helps
I'm thinking since both the rear white wheels have this odd off-center bolt hole issue (where the center hole and rim wobbles up/down, even though it was perfectly balanced on the machine via the center-hole)
I'll have the black trackday wheels powdercoated white instead cos they're perfectly straight.
tonights task is to remove this steering column plastic cover (removing it from the tight engine bay would be a PITA) so I can unbolt the UJ and remove the steering rack to fix a squeaking sloppy rubber rack mount.
so Jess who works at Ford Jennings offered to fix the valves and finally align the yellow tyre dots to the valves too
so I swapped over to my track wheels while I dropped the white wheels off
collecting em after work, the valves were fixed and tyre dots aligned but there were black scuff marks on the spokes of both rear wheels, it took a fair bit of buffing out but actually left a dent in the paint. another major dent was on the front wheel lip where the jaws of the tyre fitting machine must've caught when she flipped the wheel over
she was sorry and offered to pay me 25% towards the re-powder coating that I was eventually gonna give em anyway, which helps
I'm thinking since both the rear white wheels have this odd off-center bolt hole issue (where the center hole and rim wobbles up/down, even though it was perfectly balanced on the machine via the center-hole)
I'll have the black trackday wheels powdercoated white instead cos they're perfectly straight.
tonights task is to remove this steering column plastic cover (removing it from the tight engine bay would be a PITA) so I can unbolt the UJ and remove the steering rack to fix a squeaking sloppy rubber rack mount.
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pollyp
Club Member
3D print solid steering rack bushings
The steering rack has been squeaking a lot and felt slightly sluggish.
This was partially caused by cutting the 'square' half of the rubber bush so that I could fit a machined half-circle bushing as an early attempt to reduce play. but what it actually did was allow the mounting bracket to pivot from the front side and the very loose fitting rubber mount at the back allowed the bracket & rack to 'swing' sideways resulting in sloppy response.
to unbolt the rack, first I had to detach the steering column UJ off the rack. decided to unbolt it from within the footwell which was slightly easier than trying to remove the cover from the tight engine bay
so here's the sloppy rubber rack mount, notice the huge gap between the rubber sides and the mounting bracket
modelled a tighter fitting new bush
3D printed over 6hrs
Snug install
went for a test drive and ooh the steering finally feels very sharp & responsive
The steering rack has been squeaking a lot and felt slightly sluggish.
This was partially caused by cutting the 'square' half of the rubber bush so that I could fit a machined half-circle bushing as an early attempt to reduce play. but what it actually did was allow the mounting bracket to pivot from the front side and the very loose fitting rubber mount at the back allowed the bracket & rack to 'swing' sideways resulting in sloppy response.
to unbolt the rack, first I had to detach the steering column UJ off the rack. decided to unbolt it from within the footwell which was slightly easier than trying to remove the cover from the tight engine bay
so here's the sloppy rubber rack mount, notice the huge gap between the rubber sides and the mounting bracket
modelled a tighter fitting new bush
3D printed over 6hrs
Snug install
went for a test drive and ooh the steering finally feels very sharp & responsive
Looks good and fits well Paul. My only thought is how resilient is the material and will it keep it's shape for any length of time? I have made firmer bushes for suspension joints for my MG Midget in the past to replace moulded hard rubber ones but I machined them from black Nylatron which I know has very good wear properties and has a high resistance to impact and oil contamination..............3D print solid steering rack bushings
The steering rack has been squeaking a lot and felt slightly sluggish.
This was partially caused by cutting the 'square' half of the rubber bush so that I could fit a machined half-circle bushing as an early attempt to reduce play. but what it actually did was allow the mounting bracket to pivot from the front side and the very loose fitting rubber mount at the back allowed the bracket & rack to 'swing' sideways resulting in sloppy response.
View attachment 72399
to unbolt the rack, first I had to detach the steering column UJ off the rack. decided to unbolt it from within the footwell which was slightly easier than trying to remove the cover from the tight engine bay
View attachment 72398
so here's the sloppy rubber rack mount, notice the huge gap between the rubber sides and the mounting bracket
View attachment 72400View attachment 72401
modelled a tighter fitting new bush
View attachment 72395View attachment 72396View attachment 72397
3D printed over 6hrs
View attachment 72402View attachment 72403View attachment 72404
Snug install
View attachment 72405
went for a test drive and ooh the steering finally feels very sharp & responsive
I don’t understand the attraction of the early Mk1 Mini, a now 60 year old design that is not safe or suitable as a daily runabout in congested modern traffic levels?if I ever see a row of those at a car show, they'll literally be like peas in a pod
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Have you driven an early one? My first car was a 1960 Mini van, (some 53 years agoI don’t understand the attraction of the early Mk1 Mini, a now 60 year old design that is not safe or suitable as a daily runabout in congested modern traffic levels?
) suitably tuned they are really fun to drive. I see not real problems in the suitability of still having one on the road. As for the safety issue, in the day, a friend managed to run a Radford De Ville Cooper S square into an unlit kerb in a motorway services carpark . The front sub frame did manage to push the floor up somewhat but he wasn't injured. I also managed to have a frontal crash in mine which necessitated replacement of all of the front panels with the worlds first road going fibre glass front, bought from the racing car show in I think 1968 from the then only supplier who had only previously supplied for use on track cars. Mind you I would not like to see a modern crash test on a Mk1 Mini, though one with a solid rust free shell (new replacement Heritage shells have been available for many years now), would probably fare much better than the average 20+ year old Micra K11 with a rust riddled shell......K12 's do seem to stand up very well , which is more than be said for a K11 when new, which is only slightly better than the Classic Mini......
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pollyp
Club Member
yeah, I've always felt my PAS had this floppy dead-center feeling for years and yet driving other micras felt sharper...turned out to be this floppy old bushing all along. the new printed bush fits really snug and wow the steering feels responsive & chunky.
once I've fixed my printers heated bed I'll print it again in ABS. if the plastic degrades, it's really easy to just print another.
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pollyp
Club Member
2020-09-12 Yakushi Car Show
Before the covid restrictions hit again, the Yakushi show down Silverstone will probably be the last major car show of the year.
Since I was told about it last minute and all hotels were fully booked, it would be a very early 4am saturday trip to arrive there by 8:30 to meet with a few friends
it was a pleasant day for it. the field looked familiar and remembered this is often where ppl camped for the Japfest silverstone show.
we were expecting a grand huge flat field like in JAE but tbh it felt more like a small classic car show
the long convey drive back home following craig & annabels group in their R33 skyline, GTO, 350Z, S2000 in the sunset was amazing
Before the covid restrictions hit again, the Yakushi show down Silverstone will probably be the last major car show of the year.
Since I was told about it last minute and all hotels were fully booked, it would be a very early 4am saturday trip to arrive there by 8:30 to meet with a few friends
it was a pleasant day for it. the field looked familiar and remembered this is often where ppl camped for the Japfest silverstone show.
we were expecting a grand huge flat field like in JAE but tbh it felt more like a small classic car show
the long convey drive back home following craig & annabels group in their R33 skyline, GTO, 350Z, S2000 in the sunset was amazing
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pollyp
Club Member
I've finally decided to get myself a GoPro Hero 3+ black edition for £60 on ebay to replace the old cockpit camera.
can film 1080p super-wide @50fps or upto 4k @12fps and has wifi.
drilled some holes in the enclosure right over the mic to help record better sound
tested a few settings, the superwide 1080 seems too fisheyed, normal 1080p seems the best balance of sharp detail/contrast/file size but the onboard audio is very poorly muffled. I'm gonna try plug the lav-mic to it with a usb adapter.
can film 1080p super-wide @50fps or upto 4k @12fps and has wifi.
drilled some holes in the enclosure right over the mic to help record better sound
tested a few settings, the superwide 1080 seems too fisheyed, normal 1080p seems the best balance of sharp detail/contrast/file size but the onboard audio is very poorly muffled. I'm gonna try plug the lav-mic to it with a usb adapter.
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pollyp
Club Member
visiting Mohammad to replace the snapped front springs on his BMW 520d
near-side had a snapped coil.
being a simple wishbone, I just had to undo the bottom bolt/drop-link/top mount.
most fasteners loosened fine and access was good. hardest bit was pushing the suspension down while trying to squeeze the strut assembly past the arms and then using the dreaded spring compressors
new pair of springs fitted
near-side had a snapped coil.
being a simple wishbone, I just had to undo the bottom bolt/drop-link/top mount.
most fasteners loosened fine and access was good. hardest bit was pushing the suspension down while trying to squeeze the strut assembly past the arms and then using the dreaded spring compressors
new pair of springs fitted
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pollyp
Club Member
for afew nights I've been trying to 3d print a new support enclosure for the GoPro with limited success cos large parts tend to warp during long prints. it was taking too long, being too bulky, flimsy, complicated until I had to tell myself
Keep It Simple Stupid!
in the end I simply attached the camera to an L-bar with double-sided tape and cellotape and locked to the beam with a jubilee
it's now solidly secure with unobstructed lens and microphones
Keep It Simple Stupid!
in the end I simply attached the camera to an L-bar with double-sided tape and cellotape and locked to the beam with a jubilee
it's now solidly secure with unobstructed lens and microphones
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pollyp
Club Member
brought this miniUSB-mic adapter thinking they were all the same
only to discover they're NOT the same and the external mic didn't work
cos I actually brought an adapter for the old Motorolla handset which only uses the lower 5 usb pins for audio,
whereas cameras like GoPro uses the upper pins of the full 10pin miniUSB standard for audio
so I ended up buying yet another mic adapter meant for GoPro, and this time it's the full 10pin connector and the external mic finally works on the camera
taped the stereo Sony mic to the roof while the other mic recorded the exhaust.
video & sound is soo much better now and although the sony mic still captures some GSM interference coming from the GPS it's much less than before.
only to discover they're NOT the same and the external mic didn't work
cos I actually brought an adapter for the old Motorolla handset which only uses the lower 5 usb pins for audio,
whereas cameras like GoPro uses the upper pins of the full 10pin miniUSB standard for audio
so I ended up buying yet another mic adapter meant for GoPro, and this time it's the full 10pin connector and the external mic finally works on the camera
taped the stereo Sony mic to the roof while the other mic recorded the exhaust.
video & sound is soo much better now and although the sony mic still captures some GSM interference coming from the GPS it's much less than before.
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
the old peugeot 307 exhaust has fallen off so it's time to replace it all.
got a cheapo silencer off ebay and just look at this shoddy hanger welded onto a bracket and barely bolted on
just baffles me why they did that when the other hanger was welded on like normal?
I welded the hanger directly onto the steel casing like normal
the 17yr old silencer was rotten inside
mid pipe & silencer fitted and it quiet now
got a cheapo silencer off ebay and just look at this shoddy hanger welded onto a bracket and barely bolted on
just baffles me why they did that when the other hanger was welded on like normal?
I welded the hanger directly onto the steel casing like normal
the 17yr old silencer was rotten inside
mid pipe & silencer fitted and it quiet now
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
2020-09-25 New TIG Welder
I've been wanting to invest in a TIG welder to improve my welding and bring new capabilities.
For a few months I've been interested in the R-Tech TIG170ext and TIG161 cos they can run on normal 13a plugs, weld alloy, have excellent 3yr warranty & customer support.
Since they offer 0% finance to spread the cost out to just £90/mth I may as well get the best one possible before we all go into a 2nd covid lockdown.
So I applied for finance on the TIG170ext (it has a digital programmable interface, various advanced features & handles 170a).
unfortunately after submitting various detailed questions, I was denied finance even though I always paid bills on time, never in debt or borrow money
that's kinda disappointing I didn't get to spread the cost and I ain't prepared to pay the full £1.7k up front
So the other option is the TIG161, which technically does the same overall thing except it's analog and much cheaper
It doesn't have the convenient pre-set digital dash to save time or exotic features but that really doesn't matter to me tbh.
I nervously had to bite the bullet and purchased the most expensive tool ever and the next day I was sooooo excited to see this huge prezzy to myself
so here's the shiny new TIG machine
was curious to see what's inside it so I carefully removed the casing, it's built like an old desktop PC case lol
tons of electronics crammed inside it
4x 80mm 24v fans constantly running full speed in the back
box of extra accessories including remote pedal, gas regulator, the standard huge WP26 torch, new thinner gloves and TIG finger
added the optional smaller low-amp WP9 torch to my order cos I'm mainly welding thin stuff
I'm glad I brought the WP9 cos the WP26 is soo big, bulky & heavy
free remote pedal
new helmet
nicely painted pearlescent too
these TIG gloves are soo thin & dextorous compared to chunky MIG gloves
since renting argon from BOC or SGS or Hobbyweld was soooooo £££, I was gonna travel down to Andy in hull to collect a 20L bottle of argon for £25 plus £5 rent and help with a project of his which may lead to a potential job, but then the north east was given local covid restrictions which ruins that plan
decided to grab a 10L rent-free bottle of argon from hobbyweld for £130 (£60 returnable deposit) and collect the 20L bottle from andy in the future
comes with 160bars of gas
compared to the compact MIG, there's a lot more clutter to handle including the pedal wire and gas hose & fillers
1st practices at TIG:
the gas lens that Andy gave me wasn't giving any gas flow
the remote pedal was very tricky to manage intially considering I'm also trying to simultaneously control the awquid chunky torch position, feeding the wire and looking for the puddle
found the torch switch made things abit easier to handle so I can concentrate on just the puddle and feeding wire.
got a lot to learn, but thankfully Rtech offered 4hr free TIG welding courses when buying the machine, which I can book in billingham once these covid rules are relaxed
I've been wanting to invest in a TIG welder to improve my welding and bring new capabilities.
For a few months I've been interested in the R-Tech TIG170ext and TIG161 cos they can run on normal 13a plugs, weld alloy, have excellent 3yr warranty & customer support.
Since they offer 0% finance to spread the cost out to just £90/mth I may as well get the best one possible before we all go into a 2nd covid lockdown.
So I applied for finance on the TIG170ext (it has a digital programmable interface, various advanced features & handles 170a).
unfortunately after submitting various detailed questions, I was denied finance even though I always paid bills on time, never in debt or borrow money
that's kinda disappointing I didn't get to spread the cost and I ain't prepared to pay the full £1.7k up front
So the other option is the TIG161, which technically does the same overall thing except it's analog and much cheaper
It doesn't have the convenient pre-set digital dash to save time or exotic features but that really doesn't matter to me tbh.
I nervously had to bite the bullet and purchased the most expensive tool ever and the next day I was sooooo excited to see this huge prezzy to myself
so here's the shiny new TIG machine
was curious to see what's inside it so I carefully removed the casing, it's built like an old desktop PC case lol
tons of electronics crammed inside it
4x 80mm 24v fans constantly running full speed in the back
box of extra accessories including remote pedal, gas regulator, the standard huge WP26 torch, new thinner gloves and TIG finger
added the optional smaller low-amp WP9 torch to my order cos I'm mainly welding thin stuff
I'm glad I brought the WP9 cos the WP26 is soo big, bulky & heavy
free remote pedal
new helmet
nicely painted pearlescent too
these TIG gloves are soo thin & dextorous compared to chunky MIG gloves
since renting argon from BOC or SGS or Hobbyweld was soooooo £££, I was gonna travel down to Andy in hull to collect a 20L bottle of argon for £25 plus £5 rent and help with a project of his which may lead to a potential job, but then the north east was given local covid restrictions which ruins that plan
decided to grab a 10L rent-free bottle of argon from hobbyweld for £130 (£60 returnable deposit) and collect the 20L bottle from andy in the future
comes with 160bars of gas
compared to the compact MIG, there's a lot more clutter to handle including the pedal wire and gas hose & fillers
1st practices at TIG:
the gas lens that Andy gave me wasn't giving any gas flow
the remote pedal was very tricky to manage intially considering I'm also trying to simultaneously control the awquid chunky torch position, feeding the wire and looking for the puddle
found the torch switch made things abit easier to handle so I can concentrate on just the puddle and feeding wire.
got a lot to learn, but thankfully Rtech offered 4hr free TIG welding courses when buying the machine, which I can book in billingham once these covid rules are relaxed
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
I wasn't happy with the chunky, bulky, heavy, rigid feel of the R-Tech torches, just couldn't get comfortable with it.
opened it up to look inside and reveal a simple thin hose & switch
heads are screwed onto the flexi hose
both plastic handles are the same, too bulky imho
got rid of the rubber & leather outer sheath
looked around the house to find the correct size plastic/rubber tubes to slip onto & insulate the torches.
it's looking similar to the slimmer CK tig torches now.
suspending the hose from above relieves a lot of the weight off the torch so it's easier to hold & maneuvoure around
taped the switch back onto the thinner handle. ooh this is now soo much better to feel and hold
getting comfortable is soo important, I can now use the switch to pulse weld along a thin edge too
opened it up to look inside and reveal a simple thin hose & switch
heads are screwed onto the flexi hose
both plastic handles are the same, too bulky imho
got rid of the rubber & leather outer sheath
looked around the house to find the correct size plastic/rubber tubes to slip onto & insulate the torches.
it's looking similar to the slimmer CK tig torches now.
suspending the hose from above relieves a lot of the weight off the torch so it's easier to hold & maneuvoure around
taped the switch back onto the thinner handle. ooh this is now soo much better to feel and hold
getting comfortable is soo important, I can now use the switch to pulse weld along a thin edge too
Very good choice.
I have the same machine & helmet. You will probably use that whole bottle just practicing and trust me it's all practice practice practice when it comes to learning TIG the 4hrs training is a nice option.
Personally I don't have an issue with the larger 26 torch but everything is personal choice and comfort is probably one of the most important things
I'm a bit odd and find aluminium easier than steel when it comes to tig.
Good luck and keep practicing
I have the same machine & helmet. You will probably use that whole bottle just practicing and trust me it's all practice practice practice when it comes to learning TIG the 4hrs training is a nice option.
Personally I don't have an issue with the larger 26 torch but everything is personal choice and comfort is probably one of the most important things
I'm a bit odd and find aluminium easier than steel when it comes to tig.
Good luck and keep practicing
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
indeed I've been using it few hours per night for past few days, finding it hard to feed smoothly, lots to learn, and bottle is almost down to 1/2Very good choice.
I have the same machine & helmet. You will probably use that whole bottle just practicing and trust me it's all practice practice practice when it comes to learning TIG the 4hrs training is a nice option.
Personally I don't have an issue with the larger 26 torch but everything is personal choice and comfort is probably one of the most important things
I'm a bit odd and find aluminium easier than steel when it comes to tig.
Good luck and keep practicing
hopefully collect a 20L this weekend from Andy.
I'll book the training course once I feel I progressed along the most I can and need extra help.
just brought some Alu rods to practice with
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
New Foamex door panels
The original fabric/card door cards are getting old, filthy, leaking sound and dated so I brought these 5mm sheets of PVC foamex (often used for signs) to make some new panels
I'll be screwing the new panel directly onto the door frame for a good solid seal so I brought few packs of M6 rivet nuts plus a dedicated riv nut tool, which makes installation sooo much easier/faster, and riveted the existing holes
using some clear adhesive sheet over the door as a template to mark out all the holes to be drilled in the foamex
drilled & dremelled the holes
a few holes needed adjusting
peeled off the purple cover
fitted the handle. looks much sharper
cos it's bolted tightly to the door, the front speaker also has slightly better bass too. the rear speaker bass in comparison is soo weak now.
The original fabric/card door cards are getting old, filthy, leaking sound and dated so I brought these 5mm sheets of PVC foamex (often used for signs) to make some new panels
I'll be screwing the new panel directly onto the door frame for a good solid seal so I brought few packs of M6 rivet nuts plus a dedicated riv nut tool, which makes installation sooo much easier/faster, and riveted the existing holes
using some clear adhesive sheet over the door as a template to mark out all the holes to be drilled in the foamex
drilled & dremelled the holes
a few holes needed adjusting
peeled off the purple cover
fitted the handle. looks much sharper
cos it's bolted tightly to the door, the front speaker also has slightly better bass too. the rear speaker bass in comparison is soo weak now.
A few things no forgot to say...
Its worth checking out welding tips and tricks on YouTube. His videos are a great learning aid.
Clean your metal and when you think it's clean, clean it some more. ( Including the earth point)
Get a dedicated machine/wheel for grinding tungsten. Trust me you will be dipping your tip more than a jiggalo. As soon as you contaminate the tungsten clean it, dont carry on trying to lay a bead.
I found a "mini" bench grinder in Aldi (£20-ish) which is used solely for tungsten.
Tungsten choice can make a difference. I only use 2% lathinated now as it does everything well and I don't have to worry about changing it.
Its worth checking out welding tips and tricks on YouTube. His videos are a great learning aid.
Clean your metal and when you think it's clean, clean it some more. ( Including the earth point)
Get a dedicated machine/wheel for grinding tungsten. Trust me you will be dipping your tip more than a jiggalo. As soon as you contaminate the tungsten clean it, dont carry on trying to lay a bead.
I found a "mini" bench grinder in Aldi (£20-ish) which is used solely for tungsten.
Tungsten choice can make a difference. I only use 2% lathinated now as it does everything well and I don't have to worry about changing it.
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
oh yes I've subscribed to Jodie for few years, lots of gr8 tips and examples.
also watch Weld.com too
yup I often get the tip way too close and foul it. and spend another few minutes snapping the end off and regrinding it
brought a pack of 2% thorated 1.6mm red tips since I'll go through a few
good idea getting a seperate grinder, although my workshop is now absolutely crammed full.
I found that the 0.5s pre-flow just ain't long enough cos the initial arc would always start off very violent/unstable and then stablises after 2s.
Instead if I tap the trigger or pedal first with the tip pointing away so that the argon fills the area for least 1s and then I get into position & begin welding, it starts soo much smoother & quieter.
OP
OP
pollyp
Club Member
to improve the rear speaker bass, I measured and designed this simple parcel shelf enclosure
marked out the pieces on this free sheet of old 15mm wardrobe panel found in the house
carefully cut and marked all the holes to predrill
held the pieces together into place with tape whilst I drill into the ends of each panel
lots of screws holding it together
took lots of hours and effort to make it but it's sooo satisfying when all the pieces are accurate/straight/square and assembles with no gaps
packed it with old pillows, added the speakers & wiring and screwed it solid onto the car
so I went for a drive and although the enclosure has 'slightly' improved the rear speaker bass to match the front bass, overall it's still seriously overpowered by the boomy loud exhaust & road noise making it sound relatively flat.
when I apply a 'low-pass' filter to the rear speakers making it act like a subwoofer it normally sounds ok at idle/low speed but once again whenever I drive at speed, the exhaust totally drowns out the rear speakers as though only the flat front speakers are working.
so I guess I'll need a powered subwoofer
marked out the pieces on this free sheet of old 15mm wardrobe panel found in the house
carefully cut and marked all the holes to predrill
held the pieces together into place with tape whilst I drill into the ends of each panel
lots of screws holding it together
took lots of hours and effort to make it but it's sooo satisfying when all the pieces are accurate/straight/square and assembles with no gaps
packed it with old pillows, added the speakers & wiring and screwed it solid onto the car
so I went for a drive and although the enclosure has 'slightly' improved the rear speaker bass to match the front bass, overall it's still seriously overpowered by the boomy loud exhaust & road noise making it sound relatively flat.
when I apply a 'low-pass' filter to the rear speakers making it act like a subwoofer it normally sounds ok at idle/low speed but once again whenever I drive at speed, the exhaust totally drowns out the rear speakers as though only the flat front speakers are working.
so I guess I'll need a powered subwoofer